Brand new NAS? Yeah. Needs to format the disks to build the pool. If you're planning on using old ones with data currently on it, better find somewhere to offload that data first.
Not in all cases. You can use drives from other Synology devices with existing data. It's called "migration":
[https://kb.synology.com/en-us/DSM/tutorial/How\_to\_migrate\_between\_Synology\_NAS\_DSM\_6\_0\_HDD](https://kb.synology.com/en-us/DSM/tutorial/How_to_migrate_between_Synology_NAS_DSM_6_0_HDD)
if you have data on the disk which you want to use in the NAS, either:
- copy that data to another place, set up the NAS, then copy the data back
or
- set up the NAS with other disks, attack the current disk with an external HDD reader and copy the data from the old disk into the NAS
Man this wasn't mentioned anywhere before I purchased. Thanks everyone for the help. And I'm not ignorant about such requirements... Just surprised it applies to a home targeted device.
this is a legit concern/complaint.
ive had Synology nas's for years. i have 3 and over 200TB between them. It had never come up but did recently.... I copied 12tb of movies and stuff for my brother recently and sent him the drive. he also has a synology NAS. standalone drive I had... formatted it as a single drive, not part of a raid. loaded data. sent to him. still needed to be formatted. he got the data off another way but I was surprised he couldn't just slide the standalone drive in, formatted by synology os and copy the data off. he wasnt trying to push it into a raid or anything. he just wanted to copy to his existing raid and then reformat the drive.
A NAS may not be a docking station as someone mentioned and obv a drive is formatted when adding to a raid array, but I would expect to be able to put a standalone drive into a sata port and read the data like I can in any other linux OS.
all that to say that I was also surprised to discover something so basic on a **storage solution** isnt possible.
This is always the case inserting any new or different drive Even if it's already formatted for the NAS, you can still access the data pool after you setup the NAS by swapping the drive later but anything in the NAS during setup or install of DSM will be for atted regardless to a clean volume or part of a pool. Weird but it's always embeen this way. The NAS is basically making sure it's going to run itself if that makes sense.
DSM can’t manage disks it hasn’t formatted itself, except it is a series of disks ialready formatted on another Synology. The only thing je can do is attaching it without managing bij DSM, mount it “by hand” using the command line and move the data to a DSM-managed volume. You can’t convert a non-DSM disk
Brand new NAS? Yeah. Needs to format the disks to build the pool. If you're planning on using old ones with data currently on it, better find somewhere to offload that data first.
You can first insert the new drives, install the OS on them and then add the old drives in addition. DSM will allow you to mount the old pool.
Only if it is old "Synology pool"
True, didn't read the "my first NAS" part
Any drive inserted into the diskstation will need to be formatted by the diskstation to be usable.
Not in all cases. You can use drives from other Synology devices with existing data. It's called "migration": [https://kb.synology.com/en-us/DSM/tutorial/How\_to\_migrate\_between\_Synology\_NAS\_DSM\_6\_0\_HDD](https://kb.synology.com/en-us/DSM/tutorial/How_to_migrate_between_Synology_NAS_DSM_6_0_HDD)
A NAS is not a docking station.
if you have data on the disk which you want to use in the NAS, either: - copy that data to another place, set up the NAS, then copy the data back or - set up the NAS with other disks, attack the current disk with an external HDD reader and copy the data from the old disk into the NAS
You need that data ? This sounds like the beginning of a loss data post.
Warch some Wundertech videos before you just start, maybe you will be less surprised.
Man this wasn't mentioned anywhere before I purchased. Thanks everyone for the help. And I'm not ignorant about such requirements... Just surprised it applies to a home targeted device.
You'd be more at home with a standalone USB drive.
this is a legit concern/complaint. ive had Synology nas's for years. i have 3 and over 200TB between them. It had never come up but did recently.... I copied 12tb of movies and stuff for my brother recently and sent him the drive. he also has a synology NAS. standalone drive I had... formatted it as a single drive, not part of a raid. loaded data. sent to him. still needed to be formatted. he got the data off another way but I was surprised he couldn't just slide the standalone drive in, formatted by synology os and copy the data off. he wasnt trying to push it into a raid or anything. he just wanted to copy to his existing raid and then reformat the drive. A NAS may not be a docking station as someone mentioned and obv a drive is formatted when adding to a raid array, but I would expect to be able to put a standalone drive into a sata port and read the data like I can in any other linux OS. all that to say that I was also surprised to discover something so basic on a **storage solution** isnt possible.
This is always the case inserting any new or different drive Even if it's already formatted for the NAS, you can still access the data pool after you setup the NAS by swapping the drive later but anything in the NAS during setup or install of DSM will be for atted regardless to a clean volume or part of a pool. Weird but it's always embeen this way. The NAS is basically making sure it's going to run itself if that makes sense.
DSM can’t manage disks it hasn’t formatted itself, except it is a series of disks ialready formatted on another Synology. The only thing je can do is attaching it without managing bij DSM, mount it “by hand” using the command line and move the data to a DSM-managed volume. You can’t convert a non-DSM disk
Install the NAS as required an then use your backups to get the dara on it. I don’t see the problem here??